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Conducting Research in Social Psychology: Methods and Ethical Considerations

Learn the difference between basic and applied research, the role of institutional review boards, and the use of new technologies in social psychology research. Understand the process of conducting research, from selecting a topic to reporting results, and the importance of theory and hypothesis generation. Explore different research methods, including observational, correlational, and experimental approaches, and the ethical challenges researchers face when working with human participants.

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Conducting Research in Social Psychology: Methods and Ethical Considerations

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  1. Chapter 2: Conducting Research in Social Psychology

  2. Learning Objectives • What is the difference between basic research and applied research? • What is the purpose of institutional review boards on university campuses where research is conducted using human participants? • What does it mean when someone says, "Correlation does not mean causation"? • What new technologies are social psychologists using to study social behavior and social thinking?

  3. The Scientific Method • A set of procedures • Gather information • Analyze information • Interpret information • Leads to dependable generalizations

  4. Basic Research • Increases knowledge for knowledge's sake • Does not attempt to solve a specific problem

  5. Applied Research • Increases the understanding of social problems • Finds solutions to social problems • Using current scientific knowledge • Basic and applied research can inform each other.

  6. Values in Science • Value-free perspective • Scientists should not be concerned with how their discoveries are applied. • Trying to influence social policy is irresponsible. • Value-laden perspective • Social science and social action should be connected. • Scientists are morally obligated to try to improve society.

  7. Six Basic Steps of Research • Select a topic and review past research. • Develop a theory, generate a hypothesis, and select a method. • Obtain approval. • Collect data. • Analyze data and reevaluate theory. • Report results.

  8. Selecting a Topic • Topic choice is influenced by the researcher's own life and culture. • Research is "me-search." • Once a topic is selected, review scholarly literature to see what has already been learned.

  9. Theory • Theory: a set of ideas that integrates findings and allows for explanations and predictions • A theory should: • Have predictive accuracy • Have internal coherence • Be economical • Be fertile • A theory helps generate hypotheses.

  10. Hypothesis • A prediction about what will happen in a study • Much more specific than a theory • Terms in a hypothesis must be operationally defined. • Defined in clear, measurable ways

  11. Research Methods • Three categories of scientific methods in social psychology • Observational • Most widely used in sociology • Correlational • Similar rates of use in sociology and psychology • Experimental • Most widely used in psychology

  12. Obtaining Approval • Institutional review boards review study proposals with the goal of protecting participants. • One ethical issue is use of deception. • Not fully disclosing the nature of the study until it is over • Use of confederates (experimental assistants posing as participants)

  13. Ethical Challenges • Protection of experimental participants from psychological distress became a concern in the 1970s following several studies which appeared to put participants at risk of psychological harm. • e.g., Milgram's obedience study • Institutional review boards were developed to meet this need.

  14. Guidelines for Research with Human Subjects • Provide informed consent. • Be truthful where possible and use deception only when necessary. • Allow participants the right to decline or discontinue. • Protect participants from physical and psychological harm. • Keep information confidential. • Debrief participants after the study. • Provide information on the results if requested.

  15. Collecting Data • Population: group of people described by research question or hypothesis • Sample: smaller group of people participating in the study • Should be representative of the population • Data may be qualitative, quantitative, or both.

  16. Three Categories of Data • Self-report • "On a scale of 1-5, how happy are you right now?" • Direct observation • Count how many people put recyclables in a trash can nearest this classroom. • Archival information • Compare number of children below the poverty line in 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010.

  17. Analyze Data • Descriptive statistics summarize the responses of the sample. • Inferential statistics estimate the degree to which these responses can be generalized. • If the data do not support the hypothesis, the theory may need revision.

  18. Report the Results • Publish in scholarly journals. • Editors and reviewers critique hypotheses, methods, analyses, and conclusions. • Authors then revise and clarify. • Present at research conferences. • Personally inform other researchers.

  19. Meta-Analysis • "Analysis of analyses" • A way of calculating the overall size of an effect • Example: Are there gender differences in communication? • Researchers seek unpublished as well as published works. • Each study is treated like a participant in the meta-analysis. • Mean and standard deviation for the sample are used to calculate effect size. • Effect sizes can be averaged across studies. • Improvement over "majority rules" literature reviews

  20. Science is Self-Correcting • Researchers may reject their own hypotheses. • Editors may reject flawed studies. • If incorrect results make it into the literature, others will try to replicate it and report contradictions.

  21. Figure 2.1 The Cyclical Nature of the Theory-Hypothesis Relationship

  22. Observational Research • Naturalistic Observation • Investigation of behavior in its natural environment • Observers should be as unobtrusive as possible. • Participant Observation • The observer joins the group as a participant. • Allows researchers to get close to participants • Archival Research • Examines existing records of an individual or group • Includes content analysis

  23. Pros and Cons of Observation • Benefits • See behavior in natural context • See rare events that would not happen and/or events that cannot safely be created in laboratories • Record events usually seen only by nonscientists • Risks • Lack of control • Observer bias • Observer presence may change behavior • Ethical concerns about invasion of privacy

  24. Survey: A Form of Correlational Research • Structured questions used to measure attitudes, beliefs, values, or behavioral tendencies • Face-to-face, written, phone, or computer administration • Random selection is important for the representative sample. • Social desirability bias may affect responses.

  25. Correlation Coeffiecient • Correlations are used for prediction. • If two variables are correlated, knowing the value of one variable allows you to predict the value of the other. • Correlation coefficient measures the linear relationship between two variables. • Range is ±1.00. • Strength is indicated by magnitude (absolute value). • Direction is indicated by sign.

  26. Correlation ≠ Causation • When two variables are related (correlated), there is a natural tendency to assume one causes the other. • However, there are problems in assuming a particular causal structure. • Third variable problem • Reverse causality problem

  27. Figure 2.2 Plotting the Relationship Between Variable X and Variable Y on a Graph

  28. Experiments • "Experiment" is not just another word for "study"—it has a particular meaning. • An experimenter uses random assignment to put people into groups or conditions. • Manipulates an Independent Variable (IV) • Measures a Dependent Variable (DV) • Controls all other variables as much as possible

  29. How Does an Experiment Show Cause and Effect? • The groups are equivalent at the start of the experiment. • They experience different levels of the IV. • They don't experience any other differences. • Because all other variables are controlled • Therefore, if the groups are different at the end of the study, it can only be due to the difference in levels of the IV.

  30. Field vs. Lab Experiments • Field experiments • More natural setting  easier generalization • Less control  less sure about cause-and-effect • Lab experiments • Unnatural setting  may limit generalizability • Easier control  stronger causal claim

  31. New Technologies • Virtual Environment Technology • Early studies suggest a promising combination of realism and control. • Web-based studies • Recruit many people • Run studies remotely (cheap and easy) • Non-representative samples • Implicit measures • Reporting what people don't realize they are thinking/feeling • Brain imaging techniques

  32. Study of Actual Behavior • Studies with real behavior as an IV or DV in two top social psychology journals • About 75% in the 1970s • About 20% in the 1990s and 2000s

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